Plant-protector.



W. H. DENKER.

PLANT PROTECTOR.

APPLlcAnoN man 55111.15, 1914.

Lll'g. f Patented Nov. 23, 1915.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co.,W,\SH1NGToN.D11

nu sans N ambi V WIELLIAM H. DENKER, OF SAN JOSE, CALFORNIA.

' PLANT-PROTECTOR.

Speccaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 23, 1915.

Application led September 15, 1914. Serial No. 861,342. 'I

To all whom z' may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. DENKER,

citizen of the United States, residing at San J ose, in the county ofSanta Clara and State of California, have invented certain new and r. 2ojects ofY my present invention consists in the construction of thesupporting frame of the housing in a simple and economical manner Vandin such shape and proportions thatone housing may be nested withinanother when 25 not1 in use to occupy as little space as possib e.

A further object of my invention consists in the provision of a simpleand efficient means for preventingv displacement of the `3o housings Yinuse.

1With these and other objects in view, my invention will be more fullydescribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and thenspeciiically pointed out in the claims -`35 which are attached to andform a part of this application.

In the drawing: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the preferred form ofmy invention; Fig. 2 is a central, vertical sectional view ,40 taken onthe line 2-2 of Fig. 1;"Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a somewhatmodified form of housing construction.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated ,45 in all the views of the drawing by thesame reference characters. t

As previously stated, my invention consists primarily of a framework,indicated as a whole by the numeral 10, which supports .50 a covering 11of any suitable material, pref erably wire netting. rlhe framework ispreferably formed from a single length of relatively stiff, althoughlight, resilient wire bent, as will be more fully explained, to .55provide substantially rectangular spaced bottom and top framesvsupportedin .proper relation to each other by substantially verticalcorner braces, the top heilig further braced or strengthened bydiagonally extending brace portions. This length of wire forming theframe is bent adjacent its end V12, as shown at 13 to extend for aconsiderable distance at rightangles to the portion '12 as shown at 14,being then bent upon itself to form an eye 15 lying in the plane of theportions 12 and 111, then bent at right angles to the portion 1li and inparallel spaced relation to the portion 12 to form one .side portion 16of the base, this side portion being of 4greater extent than the portion12, then'bent to form another side portion 17 parallel to the portion1-1 and of equal extent, then bent to form a second eye 18 diagonallydisposed with respect to the eye 15 and then extended to bear againstthe portion 12 as far as the curved part 13 joinbeing indicated at 19.rlihe wire beyond the portion 19 at the curve 13 is bent upwardly toform a corner brace portion 20 and then bent to form top side members21, 22, 28 and 2-1 corresponding to the portions 19, 17, 16 and 111,respectively, of the bottom or base, this resultingin the provision ofparallel spaced top and bottom `frame members.

From the free end of the top side portion`24e, the wire is extendeddiagonally across the top frame as shown at 25 to form a diagonal ybracefor the top frame, then downwardly as shown at 26 to the juncture of thebottom side `portions 16 and 17 along the inner side of the bottom `sideportion ling the portions 12 and 14, this latter part 16 as shown at2"(to the eye 15, then up wardly as shown at 28 to the juncture of the topside portions 23 and 211, then diagonally across the top frame member asshown at 29 to the juncture of the portions 21 and V22, then ,downwardlyas shown at 30 to the eye 18'iand then extended in parallel engagementwith the portion 19 as shown at 31 until its free end abuts against thefree end portion 12.?V

1t will thus be seen that 1 provide a frame substantially parallelepipedin shape having parallel topv and bottom portions connected at theircorners by substantial corner braces, the top portion or frame beingalso reinforced by diagonally extending brace members. 1tshould,however, be noted that the corner portions 20,26, 28 and 30 allincline towardA each other somewhat from their lowerto their upperends,whereby the ltop frame.

of the Yframe as a whole is somewhat smaller Because of this, thev y orby clamps if deemed necessary but such securing is hardly thought to benecessary as the foran'iinous` covering 11, when properly appliedandsecured about the frame, serves .to fully braceandstiffen the frame,While VV-at the same time the frame serves to e'ectually maintain thelcovering in proper extended position. VAs this foraminous covering` maybe attached to the frame members in an infinite number of ways, I havenot deemed it4 necessary, in the present instance, to disclose enlargedviews showing various methods of attachment. In practice, however, Ishall probably secure this covering Y `by means of Wires or cords 33passed about vthe various frame members and threaded through thenetting, in the manner shown in the drawing. Y

The frame, which is Aopen at the bottom, is

"preferably reinforced about its base by a strip Vof sheet metal 34,such as galvanized iron, the metal strip being disposed upon edge asshownfand secured in place by .inserting'certain of its edge portionsbetween the portions 16 and 27 of the frame at one end and the portion19 and Vportions 12 and Y `31 at the other end, as clearly shown in Fig.

2 of the drawing. The strip is so positioned as to rest by its lower endupon the ground when the protective housing is in use and tends toprevent passage of insects or smaller animals beneath the lower edge ofthehousing. In some instances, 1t may even f extend slightly below thebottom of the housing and be forced a slight distance into the ground.

In. use, Vthe above described housing is positioned over a plant, or anumber of plants, vto be protected, depending upon its size, -andanchored in position bymeans of stakes' 35 driven through thediagonallydisposed Veyes 15 and 18 and into the ground. These two stakes should besufficient to hold `the housing in place under `all conditions,A

p but if deemed advisable,` the housings may be so constructed as toprovide eyes at all four corners vofV the base, without in the slightestdegree ydeparting from the spirit f of my invention` the additional eyesbeing formed in identically the same manner as l jthose alreadydescribed.V f

In 'Fig'. 3 I have illustrated a somewhat Inoilified` form ofconstruction in which the ceive such other portions.

frame 36 is substantially conical in shape, although formed from asingle length of wire in'much the same manner as is the frame previouslydescribed. In this form of my invention, one end portion of the wire 37,after being curved somewhat, is bent to form an eye 38, after which itis bent into a semicircle 39 and further bent to provide an eye 40diametrically opposite the eye 38. The wire is then bent as shown at 41to complete the circular base, extending to the eye 38 and then beingdirected upwardly as shown at 42 and downwardly as shown at 43 to theportion 39 of the base at a point preferably substantially midwaybetween the eyes 38 and 40. From this point, it is extended, always inclose engagement with the base portion 39, as shown at 44, to a pointadjacent the eye 40, then upwardly as at 45 and downwardly over thebight portion 46 connecting the portions 42 and 43, as shown at 47, anddownwardly as shown at 48 to the base portion 41, preferably at a pointsubstantially diametrically opposite the lower end of the portion 43,being then curved and extended in close engagement with such baseportion, as shown at 49 until its freer end, meets the free end portion37. Preferably, the bight portion 46 is instruck somewhat to provide aseat 95 for the bight portion 47 in order to stiifen the uprightportions of the resultant frame. The frame thus formed is covered, saveat its bottom, with netting 50 and its base is reinforced by an annularstrip 51 of sheet metal disposed on edge, with certain of its edgeportions seating between the portions 37-49 and portion 41 and betweenthe portions 39 and 44. The eves 38 and 40 are of course adapted' toreceive stakes 52 corresponding to the stakes when the protectivehousing is in use. Inasmuch as this latter form of housing is conical inshape, it will be clearly apparent that a number o1' housings of thisform may be readily nested when not in use. f y

Although I have illustrated and described two greatly similar forms ofmy invention, in all their details, it will oi' course be understoodthat I do not wish to be limited to these specific details as anvchanges, within the scope of the appended claims may be made at'fanvtime without in the slightest degree'departing from the spirit of myinvention.

-Having thus described the invention, wh at Y is claimed as new is:

1. A plant protector including a frame formed from a single length ofwire bent to provide base and top portions and connecting portions, anda coveringr of foraminous material about the top and sides of the frame,portions of the wire crossed by other portions being bent to provideseats to reno 2. A plant protector including a frame formed from ztsingle length of wire, a foreminous Covering about the top and sides ofthe frame, the wire forming certain portions of the bottom of the framebeing doubled, and a strip of sheet metal surrounding the bottom of theframe and held in place by being seated between the doubled portionsthereof.

3. A plant protector including a wire frame, the wire forming certainportions of the bottom of the frame being doubled, a

strip of sheet metal surrounding the bottom of the frame and seatedbetween the doubled portions thereof and so held in place, and a 15foraminous covering at the top and sides of the frame.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM I-I. DENKER. [1.. 8.]

Witnesses FRANK TONNER, J. F. MARTIN.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, ID. C.

